Sickle bar attachment



W. C. HAEFNER SICKLE BAH ATTACHMENT July 12, i1949.

Filed Feb. 28, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 41 July 12, 1949. w. c. HAEFNER2,476,190

' SICKLE BAR ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 28, 1947 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN V ENTOR.

Patented July 12, 1949 amano SICKLAR ATTricI'TMN"1"' e william C.Haefner; Newport, Kysassignore. to

The Auto Sun Products Company, Cincinnati,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio replication 'Ferery'za 194" 10 Claims.

Y i e This invention relatesv to improvements in lawn mowers of theconventional reel type, and particularly to a sickle bar attachmentto'be detachablyv mounted thereon, 'the said attachment being applicableto, powervlawn` mowers as well as to hand operated mowers.

One of the objects ofthe invention is towprovide an easily detachedsickle bar adapted to cut tall grass, weeds, and otherlgrowth in advanceofthe relcutter of the mower.

Another object 'is to provide a sickle bar at-r tachment so positionedon the lawn mower as to greatly'reducethe danger of the cutting bladescontacting stones,'stick,s', and otherV hard objects with attendantdamaging results.

Afurth'er object is' to provide a sickle baat.' tachment which maybequickly applied to most standard reel type lawn mowers of the'capacity or width of cut, with the'use "of simple tools in the hands ofunskilled operators.

4Another object is to provide an attachment 'of the type referredjto',which is highly' simplified inv design-so that it may be `manufactredex? peditiously from common materials, jwith substantial savings inlabor and materlalco'sts;

Anotherobject of the invention is the 'provision of a simplified sicklebar attachment', which maybe quickly dismantled when" necessary forcleaning, repairing, and the like, without re'-r quirlng the services ofa skilled mechanic.

The foregoing and other objects and"a'dvanV tages are attained by themeans described'herein and'illustrated upon the accompanying draw# ings,in which: Fig. 1 is atop plan view of a conventional re type'lawn mowershowing the improved sickle bar attached thereto,V part of the mowerbeing broken away in the interest of clarityof disclosure.

Y Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental top plan view 4o one methodofapplying a cam to the reel cutter.l

blades.

Fig. 6 is a fragmental top plan view showing av modied method ofattaching the camto the mower reel assembly. f

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a cam in twoparts fork .applicationY toa reel Vshaft or shaft collar.

.Fighe isa perspective View of a modied tooth conguration,.lV

As anyone operating a conventional' ro ary reel type of"lawii=niowr`cantestify, such a mower is ineffective for cutting tall grass, grassheads, weed-spikes and the like, for the reason that such"`tall""growthis pushed over and laid flat upontne `earm- Befor'etn? reei blades andstatorar'yiiknife canreac' them -'TAccordingly it is' desirable` to"furnishfaffdevice'f vsu'ch asis described herein,` whichfwillixextend"forwardly of the reel blades vso a's to cutoff. anyft'all growth inits' path at*aheight"sufficie'ntlyflow to-lenable the reelbladesfand'cutterl knife' tollm'akei a iinish out of the lawn;4"Witlithis objecteinl view, 'the present inventionproposes to 'mountl `asickle lbar upon the"conventional"mower frame, said bar being designed.to incorporatevarous vfeatures of advantage.l as generally'statedinthepreceding objects voftheinventions;.i` r1.1* r

QMS/lith reference -toiFg. 1, there-Lis shown. theconventional-lawnnmower .comprising the rotary reel cutterassembly I2mounted on the reel shaft 13.-' fthisshaft. isjournaled in side `framesl5 andzll,.which.carryrthetraction wheels Il and I lzffAssisfcustomary,`the.r'ee1..l.2'is motivated bygearinggwithin theY wheels' I1. arid I8andthe side` frames `l'andilf'lhe Straight cutter knife l9,:whch;co actsWith'thereelcutter I2 to perform. .the V,final cutting 'actiom is`adjustably mounted. between extensions'. 20 and 2|, said extensionsVbeing integral. with or mounted upon the side' fram'es I5'zard 'I6'.;The'l roller 22 is rotatively journaled in the outerends of theextensions 20 'and 2li, The Amower handle, not shown,.is attachedftothepivoted handle brackets 23a at'the point where the said bracketsconverge. The'side'frames I5an`d I6 generally are maintanedin spacedparallelism by means of a frame spacer roolv25. "The wheels I'l and I8are rotatably mounted upon the side frames bymeans of axles-26gwlichusually are in the form of a bolt or" some/form of 'movable'stud. Aspreviously recited;k theendsof--the reel shaft I3 are rotatablyjurnaledlin v:bearings"supported by the side framesv I5 andllG'iandldrivenbysuitable gearing upon; each advancing movement of the mower.

A multiplicity of 'blades Z1.are.ixedly mounted uporllth shaft- 13meansof platesV or spiders 28, whichalsos'erve to maintain the curvedblades 2.1 in spacedrelationshipl. 'I'he plates 28 may` be in/thei formof 4'radialrarms extending from hubs 29y -iiXed -toathe reel-shaft! I3,f as.` shown Ain Fig.I 1, or may bel-substantially disclike in form, asshown at 130 in 1i g.16,I thegblades.Z'Ibeingsuitablyattache'dfthereto?y I'Spa'ce'ncollar's 3| may be disposed betweenth'en'dmosthubs 29 and 3 the side frames I5 and I6, and fixed to the reelshaft I3 by means of set screws 32.

The sickle bar attachment as illustrated by Figs. l, 2, and 6 comprisesa stationary cutter bar 33 of substantially flat metal, having formedalong its leading edge a series of substantially triangular cutter teeth35. In order to impart the desired rigidity to the stationary ,cutter,bar, the bar may be provided with afde'pndingv flange 3S forming therear edge of said bar, as shown in cross-section in Fig. 3.

Upon the stationary cutter bar rests asubstantially fiat movable cutterbar 31, having triangular teeth 38 formed along the leading edge.thereof, said teeth being arranged vto overlie .the teeth of thestationary cutter bar 33, so that a shearing action results fromlongitudinal reciprocations of the movable cutterba31.` Thextnt ofreciprocation of the movable cutter bar approximates the distancebetween the pointed ends of adjacent teeth.

To maintain ,the cutter Ibar s in substantially atwise contact, vthereis provided an overlying stationary guard plate ,3.9 .which may, ifdesired, b e provided with teeth ,40, of substantially the same `size asthe stationary cutter bar teeth 3 5 which they overlie. At its rear edge4I the guard plate may be supported in `spaced relationship to thestationary cutter -bar 33 by .means of a fixed longitudinal 'spacingstrip ,4.2 riveted, welded, or otherwise fastened to the upper surfaceof the stationary cutter bar. The thickness of the spacing strip 42,will slightly exceed Athe thickness of the movable cutter bar 31 so,that the llatter may reciprocate freely between the stationary cutter`bar 33 and .the guard plate 3.9. As a means of maintaining parallelismbetween the stationary cutter bar and the guard plate, the .teeth .ofthe latter may be formed with blunt ends and these ends turned down toform flanges 43, as shown in Fig. 43. In vthis case, the length of theflanges 43 will approximate .the thickness of the spacer strip 42.Besides maintaining the guard plate 39 and the stationary cutter bar 33in spaced parallelism, the flanges 43, by resting upon the upper surfaceof the stationary cutter bar .teeth 35,' serve to prevent the'guardplate teeth from accidentally or otherwise being bent into Contact withthe teeth 38 of the movable cutter panthereby placing a frictionalstrainupon the last named teeth in the performance of .their shearingfunction.

. Guide means for the movable cutter bar may consist of a series ofelongated longitudinal slots 45 in the movable cutter bar, adapted toaccommodate the screws 4B which clamp the guard plate 39 and thestationary cutter bar 33 together. Interposed between the last two namedelements and in the slots 45 are the washers 41, the thickness of whichis substantially the same as that of the spacer strip 42, .as indicatedin Fig. 3. It is to be understood, of course, that suitable aperturesare `provided in .the guard plate and the stationary cutter bar for theinsertion of the screws .45 therethrough. A reinforcing strip 48,riveted, welded, or otherwise fastened to the upper surface lof theguard par, may be provided for imparting rigidity to said guard bar.

e Means for reciprocating the movable cutter bar 31 comprises a cam 49in .the form of a rullled or radially undulated disc, suitably xedagainst rotation to one end of the reel cutter assembly I2, as depictedin Figs. l and 6. The Fig. 1 method of attaching the cam 4S to the reelcutterassembly is clearly. shownin Eig. .5..v In this form the cam 49has ruilles or undulations equal to the number of curved cutter blades21, a construction which permits the ends 50 of the cutter blades tosubstantially abut the hollows 5I between the crests or peaks 52 of thecam undulations or ruiiles. A threaded stud 53 having a head 55 bent atright angles to its body 56 is disposed longitudinally of each cutterblade 21 at the cutter blade end 50, the head 55 being inserted througha suitable aperture in the blade 21 and securely fixed therein bypeening. The threaded ends 51 of the studs, which extend beyond'the endsof the cutter blades, are inserted through apertures in the hollows 5Iof the cam se and nuts Vsa 'applied for nrmiy and rigidly nxin-g the camto the cutter reel assembly I2 against rotation thereon. By way ofexplanation, the ruilled cam disc 49 is substantially of the samediameter as the cutter reel assembly I2. The method of cam applicationjust described may be used on mowers having the spider type reels 28shown in Fig. 1.

On mowers having the solid disc type of reel, as shown at 30 in Fig. v6,the cam may be applied by means of bolts 59 linserted throughregistering apertures in the reel 30 and the crests 5 8 of the cam,asclearly delineated in Fig. 6. The number of undulations or 'ruilies'is equal to the'nu'mber of cutter blades 21. The ends 5 0 of the bladesne in the hollows 5I 'between the'crests or peaks 52 of the rufliedcam49, Y

A third fmethld 0.59am erploeiion is .envisioned, wherein the cam isfabricated two parts, as shown at' 50 and 6I vin Fig. 7.. Semicircularanges 62 and 63, laterally extending from the approximate center of theruled'semidiscs It() and b I, A are adapted to griptl'ie spacer dollar.lll by .rm'ly olemni'gthereon by .meefls of bolts inserted through' theapertures 5 5 of the clamping lugs 6 5. When thusinstalled, the twoparts t!! `and -6I become ,a unified cam of substantially'the -sameconfiguration as the Vcam 49 depicted in rigs. i and 6L' Referring againA.to,tliesiokle bar attachment, a cam follower Iplate 51, in'associationthe movable cutter is provided at xone end of Seid editer' bef? eserstellte@ .Fi-a .4, this may be' in the ferm el en allele plete rivetedto die' nidi/able entier Per il es indicated at .l- A this sbirri @limerbe pierres@ between ,the cani follower plate `51 and the movable cutterbar 1 to compensate ,f9.r .the space l0 between the guard plate 39 andthe movable cutter bar 31, as shown ip pig. 3. an elongated slot 1I, forclearing the heads of riylets ,68, is provided in the stationary Cutterber 3.3L Proces" or fingers vil .and 1.3 are Struck .from e flange ,15.depending vfrom the cam follower plete El, said ,lingers extendinglaterally from the outer face of .the flange 15 and -in spacedparallelism, the space therebetween forming the cam follower 15, asindicated in Fig. 4. Since clearance must be proyided for the camfollower plate a portion of the guard plate 39 may be either depressedupwardly, or cut away as indi: cated by the dotted lines at l? in Figs.l, 2, and 6,-to provide clearance suflicient to permit longitudinalreciprocation of the cam follower plate Gl with its associated movablecutter bar 31. In

. the example illustrated, cut grass and other ex-y traneous matter areprecluded from entering the sickle bar at the Clearance 11, by a coverplate 18 Welded or otherwise xed to the guard plate 39 .immediatelyabove said olea-renee. If desired. oil holes 19 may be provided in thecover plate for the application of a lubricant to' the moving parts ofthe sickle bar.

It will thus be understood that when the sickle bar attachment isproperly mounted on the frame of a lawn mower, each forward movement ofsaid mower will cause the cam 49 to rotate with the cutter reel assemblyI2, While the ruflied sinuous or sinusoidal periphery of the cam, beingpositioned within the cam follower 16, will cause the movable cutter bar31 to reciprocate longitudinally between the stationary cutter bar 33and the guard plate 39. This reciprocation will continue as long as thereel assembly I2 is rotating, causing a shearing action between thesharpened teeth 38 of the movable cutter bar and the teeth 35 of thestationary cutter bar, thus shearing off any succulent vegetation withinthe path of the sickle bar in preparation for the final cutting by thereel cutter blades 21 passing over the straight cutter knife I9. As willbe understood, as the ruled cam 49 is rotated, the undulated sides ofthe cam bear against the inner faces of the cam follower fingers 12 and13, first on one finger and then on the other with each passing throughof a ruffle, causing a reciprocation of the movable cutter blade 31. Inthe case of the curved cutter blade ends 5@ abutting the hollows 5I ofthe cam 49, a portion of the blade may be removed, as indicated at 85 inFigs. 1 and 5, to permit clearance of the cam follower finger 13 as thecam 49 is rotated.

Although the sickle bar attachment as above described may be mounted inany suitable manner upon the mower frame, a preferred form of mountingis illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The mounting means in thisinstance comprises a pair of obliquely upstanding brackets 8|, one ateach end of the sickle bar, and apertured or slotted, as at 82, toreceive the bolts or studs 26 which furnish the axles upon which themower wheels il and IS rotate. lhe mounting brackets 8l may befabricated separately and suitably fixed to the sickle bar, or they maybe formed integrally with the stationary cutter bar 33 by the simpleexpedient of providing sucient material to permit turning up thestationary cutter bar ends to form said brackets. A slot as shown at 82is preferable to a hole, since in that case it is necessary only toloosen the bolts or studs 2S in order to slip the brackets 8| betweenthe loosened bolt heads and side frames I5 and I6. By then drawing thebolts tight, the sickle bar attachment is firmly mounted in position,ready to attack all unsightly vegetation common to lawns, such asplantain, buckhorn, dandelion and grass seed heads.

It should be noted that the horizontal plane of the sickle bar is onlyslightly below the center line of the wheels I1 and I8, a position highenough to prevent the cutter teeth from coming into contact withordinary stones, sticks, dog bones, and other hard objects which mightbe concealed in the grass of a lawn, yet low enough to permit therotating cutter blades 21 to carry the sickle-cut vegetation to thestraight cutter knife I9 for the final cut. Ordinary sickle bars, whichare mounted close to the earth, are always in danger of striking suchhard objects as listed above, with consequent danger of breaking orotherwise mutilating the sickle bar teeth. Such disadvantages have beenobviated by the device of the present invention.

As illustrated by Fig. 8 of the drawings, the cutter guard plate 39 andthe underlying station- Gf ary-'cutter'fbar33'may be notched .toincrease the shearing effect of the movableacutter bar whichrecprocates'between them'in the fashion/illustrated by Fig. 6. Thenotches, indicated at 84 and 85 upon the parts 39 fand' 33,respectively, preferably are* vertically aligned so that a lower notchanda corresponding upper notch may cooperate in holding any upstandingtall vegetation While the reciprocating cutter bar shears it off. Thenotches may be'slanted forwardly as shown, and staggered at oppositesides of the tapered teeth, to augmenttheholding function referred to.

To render the sickle bar attachment inoperative, it is necessary only toswing it bodily forwardly and upwardlyy about the mounting elements'orbolts '2 6,j a'distance 'sufficient to disengage the follower 16 fromthe cam periphery. This will permit use of the mower in the conventionalmanner. "Alternatively, `the sickle bar attachment may be dismountedbodily from the mower, of course, bymerelydoosening the bolts 2B tcrelease the brackets 8I.

`As hereinbefore stated, the'` device of the present invention isequallyapplicable to hand driven and powerdriven lawn mowers. It is to beunderstood, of course, that various changes ,and modifications may bemade in the structural details c f the mechanism, withinT the scopeofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.Q f i What is claimed is: j

1. A reel andvsickle lawnmower lhaving a frame and a pair of tractionwheels said mower comprising a reel and blade assembly, the reel beingrotatably mounted on Va shaft operativelyconnected to the wheels of themowerito be driven thereby, a sickle assemblyV disposed forwardly ofsaid reel and secured .at its opposite ends to the lawnmower frame,saidsickle assembly having a reciprocating sickle bar disposed 'betweena stationary cutter barand ,a stationary guard, the reciprocating barhaving atone end thereof adjacent one end of the reel'a canfollo'wer,`and a circular cam, the surface of which is undulating in a directionparallel to said reel shaft, disposed between one wheel and the end ofthe reel adjacent thereto, the cam being coaxial with the reel shaft andsecured to the reel, said cam being in operative engagement with saidcam follower and adapted to impart a reciprocating motion to the sicklebar as the reel rotates about said shaft.

2. A lawnmower according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that thecam comprises a circular sheet metal disc which is deformed with respectto a plane normal to the axis of rotation to simulate a Sinusoid.

3. A reel and sickle lawnmower having a frame and a pair of tractionwheels, said mower comprising a reel and cutter blade assembly, the reelbeing rotatably mounted on a shaft operatively connected to the wheelsof the mower to be driven thereby, a sickle assembly disposed forwardlyof said reel and secured at its opposite ends to the lawnmower frame,said sickle assembly having a reciprocating sickle bar disposed betweena stationary cutter bar and a stationary guard, said sickle assemblybeing mounted slightly below the center line of the tractor wheels butabove the reel cutter blade, the reciprocating bar having at one endthereof adjacent one end of the reel a cam follower, and a circular camthe surface of which is undulating in a direction parallel to said reelshaft disposed between one wheel and the end of the reel adjacentthereto, the cam being coaxial with the reel shaft and secured to thereel, said cam fbeing in .operative engagement lwith said cam followerand adapted to impart a v.reciprocating motion Ito :the sickle bar ,asthe ,reel rotates about said shaft, whereby .the sickle bar isreciprocated as .the reel rotates and the sickle bar makes a rst cut atan elevation higher than the ,reel cutter blade and the reel cutter`blade assembly makes a iinalcut at a lower level.

All. A lawn mower vhaving a lpair of spaced driving wheels, amulti-blade reel Icutter disposed between said wheels, said reel beingcoupled to said xf'vheels to be rotated about its longitudinal axis bysaid wheels as the lawnmower is propelled, a sickle b ar disposedforward of said reel and mounted at the ends thereof on said mower saidreel having a cam between one of said wheels and the end of the reeladjacent said wheel mounted to rotate with said reel about thelongitudinal axis thereof, said cam being sinusoiolal with its peaks and-valleys at right angles to its plane of rotation, the reciprocatingsickle bar .having apair ci spaced lugs projecting towards said reel and.being disposed one on each side of said .cam whereby as said reelrotates, the lugs are engaged by the peaks of said cam causing thesickle bar to be driven with a reciprocating motion.

5. A lawn mower having a pair of spaced wheels, a reel cutter locatedbetween the vwheels and the reel thereof connected to be driven by saidWheels as the lawn mower is propelled, and a sickle assembly mountedforward of the reel and between thewheels of said mower, said sickleassembly including a stationary cutter bar secured at its ends to theframe of the mower, a reciprocating sickle oar on said stationary cutterbar and a guard for holding the sickle bar on the cutter bar, saidsickle bar having at one end adjacent one end of said reel a pair ofspaced -i lugs projecting rearwardly towards said reel, and a cambetween .one of said wheels and the end of said reel adjacent said lugs,said cam being mounted :to rotate -with :said reel about lthe .axis ofrotation thereof, the periphery lof fsaid cam extending between :saidlugs l.and havinga ,sinusoidalform thepeaksand -ralleyslof which extendin :a direction substantially parallel to the Aaxis of said reel,whereby in response :to rota-tion of said reel, the lugs are engaged byvthe peaks of Said cam and the reciprocating sickle bar is reciprocated.

4A lawn mower according to claim 4 `characterized iby the fact :that thecam Ais of sheet metal and is secured 5to theblades of said reel.

'7. A lawn :mower according to claim 4 characterized ,by fthe .fact that-the 1cam vis of sheet metal and 'is secured .to ythe shaft of saidreel.

K8. A .lawn mower according to claim 5 characterized by the vfact ,thatlthe cam is of Sheet metal and is Asecured .to the ,blades of said reel.

9. A law-n mower according .to .cla-im 5 char-- acterized by .the y factthat the cam 1is of sheet metal and ,is secured ,to the shaft of saidreel.

l0. A ,lawnmower according to claim 5 characterized by 4the ffact ,thatalternate `.peaks of said sinusoid are disposed inwardly of and betweenthe ,ends of pairs Aof .blades Lof said reel and that the ends of saidblades extend into the hollows of the oppositely extending peaks of saidsinusoid.

WILLIAM C. HAEFNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record :in ,the firefor this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 642,485 Pierson Jan. 30, 1900648,600 Stair May 1, 1900 660,455 Pelletreau Oct. 23, 1900 977,569Streibich Dec. 6, 1-910 1,5 5 2,9fi 0 Aurele Sept. 8, i925 1,617,045Darling Feb. 8, 1927 1,913,094 Smath et a1. June 6, 1933

